Effect of Instrumental Lo-Fi Music on Stroop Interference Performance in University Students

Overview

This study aims to examine the effects of instrumental lo-fi background music compared to silence on cognitive interference performance among university students. Participants will be randomly assigned to either a lo-fi music condition or a silent condition while completing a paper-based Stroop Color-Word task. The main outcome will be the level of cognitive interference, measured by the number of correct responses during the interference condition. The study seeks to determine whether background music improves or impairs selective attention and cognitive control.

This study investigates the impact of instrumental lo-fi background music on cognitive interference during a Stroop Color-Word task in university students. A between-subjects experimental design will be used, where participants are randomly assigned to either a lo-fi music condition or a silence control condition. All participants will complete three timed sections of the Stroop task: word reading, color naming, and color-word interference. The Stroop interference score will be calculated based on the number of correct responses within a fixed time period. The study focuses on selective attention and cognitive control processes, examining whether background music facilitates or hinders performance. Participants will be undergraduate students with normal or corrected vision and hearing. Standardized procedures will be followed to ensure consistency, including the use of headphones for all participants to control environmental conditions. The findings of this study may contribute to understanding how environmental factors such as background music influence cognitive performance in academic settings.